N.Y. quintet, Niyaz added to jazz fest

Montreal trio Niyaz and New York’s Dave Douglas Quintet are the latest additions to the lineup for the TD Halifax Jazz Festival, slated for July 5-13.

Niyaz will play at the Festival Tent on July 7 in a co-presentation with the Prismatic Festival, and Casino Nova Scotia and JazzEast will present the Dave Douglas Quintet on July 12 in the Schooner Showroom.

Niyaz was formed in 2005. Two of the three members are originally from Iran. They immigrated first to the United States and then Canada, and they perform a modern take on Sufi mystical poetry and folk songs.

Kiran Ahluwalia, who was born in India and lived in Toronto before making her home in New York, opens for Niyaz. She sings love songs of India and Pakistan and Punjabi folk songs.

The Dave Douglas Quintet is led by a trumpeter, composer and teacher. Twice Grammy-nominated and a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Douglas will be a guest faculty member for JazzEast’s creative music workshop.

Halifax is the group’s only stop east of Montreal as they tour this summer promoting their album Time Travel, to be released April 9.

The BiCoastal Collective, made up of Nova Scotia trumpeter Paul Tynan and baritone saxophonist Aaron Lington from the San Francisco area, opens for the quintet. They will be joined by Dave Staples (piano), Tom Easley (bass), Tom Roach (drums) and Jake Hanlon (guitar).

Tickets for Niyaz are $25, or $22 for JazzEast members. Tickets for the Dave Douglas Quintet are $23.50, or $19.50 for JazzEast members. For information, visit halifaxjazzfestival.ca or call the Jazz Hotline at 229-7897.